Apparently Stephen Harper has visited S.,D. & G. and proclaimed that rural Canada should have better internet. The problem is not that we don’t have decent internet, it is that we are expected to pay astronomical amounts for data when our urban friends pay a pittance. Especially when our incomes are compared. In fact, there is so much free wi-fi in cities, such as Ottawa or Toronto, it is not even a necessity to have your own internet account.

Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, Starbucks; just to name a few, all offer free wi-fi. Libraries, malls and most restaurants offer free wi-fi. Only here, in rural Canada, are we expected to pay for the internet as though it is a luxury. And the charges would make you think it was. After having a house-full of guests last summer our internet bill came back over $600 for that month! Yes, most of our urban friends have Netflix and most of our friends have never had to mind their internet usage before, but ouch. And guess what? Bell held us to it. They stated that there was no issue with our connection and that we are responsible for all the data that was used. I still shake my head at that bill…

But, guess what? It is not a luxury. And seeing as how most businesses and governments depend on it, I would dare say the internet is a need in today’s society. I just find it funny that Stephen Harper is grasping at rural Canada for love, using the internet as his weapon of choice.

Call me crazy, but now I am angry this hasn’t been addressed earlier, especially if it makes the internet more accessible to us all. I had always thought the cost of internet was Bell, and companies of the like, saying F.U. to country dwellers as the government turns a blind eye. Well, now I see them as both dark entities.

Stephen Harper wants to approve funding for an infrastructure so that we, rural people, can have better internet. Isn’t anyone else a little miffed about this? Why haven’t we deserved this sooner? Especially if the government has any interest in the intelligence of the country, as a whole. Providing access to information and education should be a number one priority for all of us. But, then providing public transit should be a major priority for the environment and for taxpayers, but a quick look at Toronto or Ottawa’s public transit system and you can easily see it’s a joke. Especially if you look at older cities, such as London, England… Shameful.

If you ask me, my internet speed is just fine, here in South Stormont. It is the price of the internet that we are burdened to pay that really gets my knickers in a bunch.

I feel like if the government really wanted to make a difference they would stop talking about sales of The Beer Store and the L.C.B.O.. Those investments will always continue to produce revenue, especially if they are ran properly! Selling those interests are not worth the quick cash injection in the long run.

I personally loathe that the Harper regime sold water rights to Nestle. Why aren’t we building our own bottling plant and hiring our own citizens to bottle our own water? And then reaping the rewards, as a country, off the obvious perks; employment and profit.

Why doesn’t anyone seem focussed on the long game? Affordable internet for all, affordable (cancer) medications for all (If you don’t care about this strongly now, you will, I assure you.), natural resource protection, tourism advertising and viable investments.

What about our tourism advertising dollars? Why that was terminated, especially considering that tourism dollars benefits our country, as a whole? I was at Wasaga Beach this summer and half of the businesses along the main drag didn’t even open this year. That speaks volumes.

We are in a recession. Our current government has been caught lying to us, more than once, and the current system of “accountability” is not working. It is hurting us, as a whole.

I don’t know about you, but I am sick of the lies and I am sick of the money-sucking vortex that is otherwise known as our government. I am sick of smart people playing dumb and I am tired of all the excuses.

Our internet along with the useless, insane piece of garbage cable vision is a lot of money and my husband looks after the bills. We have other sources like IP TV which is a wonderful system to have. The cable itself is a piece of garbage. We pay a lot of money here in Ottawa for the cable. Cornwall has a station that is on the cable that we here in Ottawa have to pay extra for. In general Cornwall’s cable vision is a great deal cheaper than ours is here in Ottawa. My computer is way too big to… Read more »